Player Resources - Beginner’s Cheatsheet
The internet is full of resources for D&D. A large majority of I said resources are for the DM, but there are some player resources out there. Like everything else in life, some are excellent and some garbage. Starting this week, Dump Stat will throw its hat into the ring and provide players of all levels of experience a variety of resources to use in-game and out.
It only makes sense to start with a beginner’s sheet for the new player. Be warned - this post will seem incredibly boring to the veteran player.
Upon returning to D&D in 5th edition, It took me all of 10 seconds to realize the game was completely different than the one I played back in 2nd edition. Had I been smart, I would have created a quick reference guide for all the terms I either didn’t know or had forgotten. Instead, I relied on a series of post notes and scribbles in a notebook to try and figure out what I should do every turn. Thank the gods the group I play with had a seemingly bottomless well of patience since I forgot half my action options seemingly every other turn.
D&D Beyond is a big help, but for this first cheatsheet, we are assuming that the player knows nothing of D&D and needs to learn such basics as movement and what actions are available to the player. Remember, this is for the newest of new players, so it’s been ‘dumbed down’ somewhat. Hopefully down the road, I’ll be able to create additional cheat sheets with more detail to them.
For those of you who just want to get to the good stuff
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The Four Stages of Combat (but you only need the first two)
The DM cries out “Roll for Initiative”! As a new player, you freeze. What’s my movement speed? Do I have any reactions I need to remember? Is peeing in my armor a free action? All these questions swim around the brain of the newbie, confusing them to the point that all they end up doing is walking up to the closest target and taking one swing with their long sword. With so many options available to your character, even a veteran player can forget all the things they can do. So let’s start at the beginning….
Movement
On your turn, you may move a distance equal to your speed. The base speed of a majority of the races at the beginning of the game is 30 feet. If you’re using minis and a mat, each square equals 5 ft, meaning you can move your mini a maximum of 6 spaces. Sounds simple enough right? It is, but there are different ways to move and times you can move. Key features of movement are:
Art Credit - Grant Griffin
You can break up your movement during your turn.
You are not allowed to stop your movement on an occupied space.
Adventurers often find themselves in dense forests, deep swamps, rubble-filled ruins, steep mountains, etc. which are considered difficult terrain. You move at half speed in difficult terrain--moving 1 foot in difficult terrain costs 2 feet of speed.
You cannot move through an enemies square. They won’t let you!
You can move through an ally’s square, but it is considered difficult terrain.
I know you want to hit something but we aren’t done talking about movement yet. There are a variety of different types of movement you may engage in depending on the scenario. You can swim, jump, run, crawl, stand up, so on and so forth. Please note that walking and running are both considered the same, unless you Dash, which is an action. But we are getting ahead of ourselves. It’s worth taking a look at the primary forms of movement, since you may find yourself having to swim across a lake or jump across a deadly trap.
Move - Walk, Run, Skip, Hop, and so forth. Standard 5 ft.
Climb - 5 ft. distance costs 10 ft. in movement.
Crawl - 5 ft. distance costs 10 ft. in movement.
Swim - 5 ft. distance costs 10 ft. in movement.
High Jump - Standard 5 ft.
Long Jump - Standard 5 ft.
Fall Down (Prone) - 0 ft. of movement.
Stand up - 5ft. distance costs 1/2 your total movement.
So now you know how to move around. Now let’s see what happens when you get where you’re going!
Action
One simple word that encompasses 90% of the things you’ll want your character to do. For the purposes of what we are trying to accomplish, the term action applies to things you can do during combat. A few simple guidelines to follow when thinking about an action and what it is. You can attempt to do anything that could be accomplished in 6 seconds or less. The most common action taken in combat is the attack action. You don’t have to take an action.
This list of actions can be long and daunting to the new player. The list of actions we are presenting is a fairly comprehensive list but is by no means the end all be all of actions you can do in D&D. But for the brand new player, these are the ones that they should focus on learning and using during combat.
Art Credit - Magic the Gathering, WotC
Attack - A ranged or melee attack.
Cast a Spell - Using a spell with a cast time of one action.
Dash - Move double your movement speed.
Disengage - Back away from a fight. If you start the round within 5 feet of opponent you can see, move away from him without provoking an opportunity attack.
Dodge - You prepare your defenses against an attack. Until the start of your next turn, you have Advantage on Dexterity saving throws and if you can see the attacker attacks against you have Disadvantage
Grapple - An action that allows you to grab a creature or wrestle with it. The target of your grapple must be no more than one size larger than you and must be within your reach. Using one free hand you make a Strength (Athletics) check contested by the target’s Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check, which one the target chooses the ability to use.
Help - Grant an ally an advantage. Help ally attack opponent within 5 feet of you. The first attack roll is made with Advantage, or you can help him, still granting advantage with any other task.
Hide - Move to where you cannot be seen. If you can’t be seen, make a Dexterity (Stealth) check to hide. Your check must beat your opponent's Wisdom (Perception) check
Ready - You wait. Instead of taking an action during your turn, wait for some specific event. Then take your action as a reaction. You can still move up to your speed, but you can take no other action this round. You must say what the triggering event will be. It can be anything you think might happen that you can observe. If the event occurs before the start of your turn on the next round you can perform your readied action at that time. You must also say what action you will take. This can be any of the combat actions.
Search - Looking around as an action. Use your action to attempt to find something. The DM might require you to make a Wisdom check or an Intelligence check.
Shove - Push someone 5 ft away. The target must be no more than one size larger than you and must be within your reach. You make a Strength (Athletics) check contested by the target’s Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check, which the target gets to choose.
Use an Object - An object may require an action for you to use it, or you may need to use this action to interact with more than one object in a round.
These are the basics that everyone needed to know for the first combat situation they will eventually find themselves in. The next two stages of combat (Bonus Actions and Reactions) are not something you are guaranteed to be able to do. While there are a large number of bonus actions, there are very few reactions that your character will use throughout the campaign. These actions are very character-specific and can be challenging for the new player to remember. It is crucial that as a new player you have all your bonus actions and reactions written down somewhere so that you can always run through the list during your turn. Missing out on a free attack action because you forgot you have Two-Weapon Fighting is not something you want to happen!
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